2012 World Series: Game 1

Posted on October 25, 2012

Young Giants fans try and get autographs before Game 1 of the 2012 World Series between the Detroit Tigers and the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)

Tonight marked the 13th straight World Series I have photographed for Major League Baseball. Every year has been a blast, but this year’s Fall Classic is off to a very special start as my team, the San Francisco Giants, hosted game 1 tonight at AT&T Park in San Francisco. They didn’t exactly treat the visiting Detroit Tigers very well as they demolished the mythical Justin Verlander en route to an 8-3 win in front of a delirious home crowd behind the arm of Barry Zito and the bat of Pablo Sandoval.

It was a glorious fall day in the city and the blue sky and puffy white clouds made a gorgeous backdrop during batting practice and the pregame festivities as everyone prepared for the Tigers to smoke the Giants behind their ace. Little did the assembled fans and media know that they would be witnessing history as the day turned to night and two unlikely Giants emerged as heroes.

I shot the game from the outside third base photo well next to the Giants dugout. This is a great spot that is cool for action and also for the opportunity to shoot into the Giants dugout. Seeing into the dugout during the game is fun because you can shoot the emotion on the players faces that helps tell the story of the game.

As a Giants fan I had pretty much chalked this one up in the loss column. Zito has been pitching well, but I saw Verlander smoke the A’s in the ALDS two weeks ago and I was afraid he would do the same against the Giants. Boy was I wrong!

The Giants often-malinged lefty hurler Zito was on his game again tonight as he stymied the Tiger bats while his teammate Sandoval connected for not one, not two, but THREE home runs. This historical feat by the Kung Fu Panda tied him with Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, and Albert Pujols as the only players to ever hit three home runs in one World Series game. I shot Pujols doing it last year in Texas and never imagined I would see the same feat again so soon.

By the time the panda hit his third homer the game had turned into a laugher and Zito was king of the world. Barry freaking Zito! What a story this guy is! I am so happy for Zito. He is a good dude and has gone through Hell during his stay in San Francisco as he has been searching for his groove on the mound since the 2007 season.

After beating Verlander tonight the Giants are playing with house money as they head into Game 2. This improbable team keeps finding a way to win and is red hot after playing so many dramatic elimination games in the post season. The Giants seem to have a ton of momentum, but as we all know that momentum is only as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher. Go get’em Madison Bumgarner!